Can Ozilliant Arsenal Make It Eight In A Row?
Oct 21st, 2016 by 'holic
Middlesbrough are next up as we complete three home games in eight days, and we are looking for a clean sweep after a narrow defeat of Swansea, and eventually an absolute thrashing of Ludogorets.
Arsene Wenger has some difficult selections to make tomorrow. There is little doubt that Petr Cech will return between the sticks, but ahead of him the boss has to choose between Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs to play alongside Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, and Laurent Koscielny. I suspect Nacho will get the chance to reclaim the reliability he has demonstrated in the last couple of seasons.
Santi Cazorla is a doubt after taking a knock on Wednesday. Such is the strength of the squad there is no need to take any risks. Francis Coquelin can be partnered by Mohamed Elneny as Granit Xhaka serves the first of his three match ban.
There is another choice to be made on the left flank. Alex Iwobi is the likely starter but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave the boss much food for thought on Wednesday evening with a solid performance and a goal.Whoever gets the nod will be part of the most fluid front four in the top flight at the moment. We are used to seeing Alexis and Theo Walcott interchanging but it is the determination of Mesut Ozil to ghost into the box more regularly that is most eye-catching.
The classy playmaker has helped himself to four goals in the last two games, including two volleys of the highest order. He is playing with confidence and style, and the addition of more goals is helping to make our new attacking set-up so good to watch again. Let’s hope we are able to come to an agreement on a new contract for him soon. Yes, it will cost us, but so would a replacement of anywhere near his ability.
Boro arrive just one place above the relegation zone on goal difference, and head coach Aitor Karanka is being brutally honest about his target with his newly-promoted charges.
“For me, I don’t care because I want to be in this position in May. We are in the Premier League now and if in May we finish 17th, I will be really, really pleased.”
Their one win this season came on the road at fellow strugglers Sunderland, and they have drawn against Stoke at home plus West Brom and West Ham on the road. Calum Chambers is on loan at the club although obviously he is ruled out tomorrow. He is also their joint second top scorer with one goal! Stuani has struck three times. They might not score many, but they are reasonably tight at the back, conceding at just over a goal a game.
The ‘holic pound
It would be wonderful if we could pick up where we left off on Wednesday but Boro are likely to put up two ranks of defence in their half and defy us to play through them. I’m being a bit circumspect with the pound and plumping for 2-0. At 11/2 it won’t pay for a holiday in the Bahamas but a nice meal out would be more than acceptable.
A Bergkamp Wonderland Podcast
The boys invited me on last night’s live podcast where we looked back over the events of the last week with a welcome and special visitor, Geoff Hollefreund. You can catch it here. Thanks for the invite boys. It was a special show to be a part of.
Book Launch At The Tollington
Talking of Geoff we will meet up again tomorrow morning for the launch of Dave Seager’s new book ‘Supporting Arsenal is a funny old game‘. it starts in the Tollington at 11 am and is a chance to share the Gunners supporting memories of no fewer than sixteen of our top comics and funny men. With Christmas around the corner this would make an excellent present.
There will be a review of the book in the blog on Monday. Having read half of it I can tell you already it is worth every penny, and for every book that sells at the RRP, £19.99, a donation of £2 goes to Comic Relief. Dave will be joined by Alex Brooker and Tony Rosenthal at the launch, so do come along and say hello.
That’s it for another preview. I will see a fair few of you tomorrow no doubt. Wherever you are following the match have a great one, ‘holics.
30 Responses to “Can Ozilliant Arsenal Make It Eight In A Row?”
Theozilus Alexium.
Feed the beast.
349 days.
When I trudged away frustrated from The Grove last season, after we had failed to beat the Lilywhite C***s, I had no inkling that I was going to be absent for the best part of a year.
A combination of life, work and money being haemorrhaged to “professional” drain-surgeons (some know them as lawyers) are only a part-excuse.
Last season, and I’ve heard many say the same in podcasts, blogs and virtual drinking dens elsewhere, a lot of the fun seemed to have been sucked out of following Arsenal. People falling out for all the wrong reasons, idiots willing the team to lose to justify their own ridiculous sense of importance, the advent of another Groundhog Day as the season progressed, it was all definitely draining and I had started to lose my mojo.
But 349 days, man. What a plastic! 🙄
It’s been far too long.
I can only go on what I’ve seen through the prism of various types of digital media but I like the look of everything about this season’s Arsenal and there seems to be a consensus that something special could be germinating.
Winning games will do that.
I guess we should not get ahead of ourselves and see how we cope with what is already looking like a tasty series of games in November, before we dare to dream of what could be in May. But things are currently looking good.
Credit should go to Wenger, who seems to have signed good players in positions we have been crying out for. It’s a personal disappointment that I won’t get a look at Xhaka in the flesh tomorrow, but if Coquelin can put in a similar shift to the one he delivered on Wednesday then I won’t feel short-changed. I’ve also been impressed with Mustafi who has adapted very well in a short period of time. I’m looking forward to watching that new prolific striker that bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Theo Walcott (remember him?), but most of all I’m going to enjoy the privilege of watching Mesut Ozil on the broad canvas of the Emirates pitch, clearly “nicking a living”.
So when I get up in the frozen north tomorrow, the sun still cowering under the horizon, I’m not going to be short of anticipation and excitement at coming back to the Home of Football. Despite the ludicrous combination of forms of transport that it is going to take to get me there (car, bus, plane, train and tube in that order), my journey will end at the Arsenal Supporters Club, where THE driver of The Happy Train, will be holding a ticket for me.
What a guy!
Not quite a year older but many happy returns?
You better believe it.
Cheers H! Nice one Zico!
Nice piece Guvnah. I’m sequestered in deepest Derbyshire for the weekend, but I’ll be hoping to miss something really special tomorrow.
COYG
Welcome back Zico. Great post. Missing in action tomorrow as Countryman junior, Mrs Countryman and I complete the last University Open day in this UCAS round. Should be listening on the radio as we return home. Back on parade Tuesday against Reading.
Come on you Gunners for seven in a row!
Evening Esso 🙂
Welcome back Dr z. Might we welcome you post match in the venue of choice? But for the book launch I would have dusted off my AFSC life membership card and joined you.
@2
Now if we could only get that other Kilt wearer BTM back posting on a regular basis,along with TABS,the Bar would be awash with quality posts,and equally quality debate.
Thanks for the preview, I share your view about 2-0 Holic. We battered them in the Cup two years ago and only won 2-0 then. Giroud with a brace as I recall.
I have a particular reason for disliking Boro and hope we do them comfortably tomorrow and I think we would all wish Zico a happy return.
I shall be back after my travels and am looking forward to it
I expect to be in after the match Maestro, simply to re-hydrate, you understand.
It’s thirsty work Dean-baiting. 👿
🙂
Share, ttg
‘holic
should you meet
the mighty feelgood
the mighty zico
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySGSb3pCUEM
just a peck , mind
don’t fuckin go at it
yup
chris is right
can’t fuck up
siouxsie
sweet mother of god
sexy does not cover it
saw her belfast leisure centre
30 odd years ago
badminton
squash , me
but she knew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkPu3VBCISo
where would the world be without
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGfMkp0Bfmc
we’d be in the shit hole
.
AMERICA – DON’T VOTE !
shiteballs shitballs
elect a giraffe
all about the hair
how far is the bullshit from the ground
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFZUDQ85bFU
the world’s turned to shite
look at the set around him
shoddy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPC9AcBWovA
For you, cba, the guy who gave us multi-tracking and gave his name to a guitar, here with his wife … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkGf1GHAxhE
…and here again at the other end of his career with my mate Jeff … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbwKPk5s0q8
hundreds of thousands of people
looked
and still look to Johnny Ramone
for guidance
downstrokes only !
.
sorry chris
i fuckin hate guitar players
not people who play guitars
people who read guitar player magazine
.
much like a bass player with more than 4 strings
.
arrogant herberts
les paul i like
play guitar meself
no longer in a threatening manner
Thanks for the preview, ‘holic. I will be on a flight during the game so won’t see the game but will be supporting Arsenal in the air. If rotation is indicated it looks like we have the squad and so far a healthy enough set of players to come through with three points and momentum intact. COYG.
I’m definitely in the “eight in a row” boat, Holic. I think we may find ourselves in stormy waters at the initial off but the numbers on the board will be 4-0 when we cross the line.
Ozil’s signature? However much it takes. He’d hate the rain in Manchester.
Enjoy. Sorry to miss you, Zico.
Good preview, ‘Holic. Given the team’s current vein of form, I suspect that if we get one, we’ll get three, and repeat the score of the first game between the two clubs — a 3-0 home win in 1899 with a goal from Andrew McCowie and two from Herbert Shaw, both subsequently sold to Middlesborough, as it happened.
As a historical footnote, our first ever league game against a team from Middlesborough was a 6-3 away win against Middlesborough Ironopolis at the Paradise Ground, next to Ayresome Park, in 1894, Ironopolis’s sole season in the Football League before going bust. Walter Shaw, the man who scored Woolwich Arsenal’s first ever League goal, got a hat-trick that day
Good to see zico in, and what Clive said @7.
I had trouble getting on the site yesterday which might not have been a bad thing as I was a bit unimpressed by our performance. Tactically we were naive and limited trying to continually go through the middle. The offside goal abthe end was an indication of how we might have broken them down but we didn’t use width at all.
In addition Koscielny had a curate’s egg of a game and he was clearly concerned by Mustafi’s wanderlust which does leave us vulnerable to the counter- attack. For two weeks in a row we’ve seen two greyhounds cause us enormous trouble down the left flank. Nacho coped better yesterday but Traore was very effective.
Only Cech would get more than a 6 for their performance yesterday from me and Boro without being brilliant were well worth their point.
We clearly missed Cazorla and Giroud and Ramsey’s late runs into the box might have unlocked them. Also I thought the way Mustafi wiped out the Boro attacker on the break seemed to me to be much more of a red card than Xhaka’s last week. Mike Dean was very decent yesterday and did little wrong. If only the same could be said of our lads. But as Wenger said if you can’t win don’t lose and we didn’t. It is part of the way the PL is now. I think we got away with it at Burnley now but couldn’t repeat it here.
Apologies all. I didn’t know the server had crashed until this morning. 🙁
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